Richard H. Anderson

Richard Heron Anderson (7 October 1821-26 June 1879) was a Lieutenant-General of the Confederate States Army and an Army of Northern Virginia corps commander during the American Civil War.

Biography
Richard Heron Anderson was born in Sumter County, South Carolina in 1821, and he graduated from West Point in 1842, 40th out of 56 cadets. He became a US Army cavalry lieutenant during the Mexican-American War, and he fought in the 1858-59 Utah War against the Mormons. On 3 March 1861, he resigned from the US Army and decided to join the Confederate States Army at the start of the American Civil War, following his home state in joining the Confederacy.

American Civil War
On 19 July 1861, Anderson was promoted to Brigadier-General, and he assisted in the defense of Pensacola, Florida before being wounded in the left elbow at Santa Rosa Island. In February 1862, he arrived in Virginia to join the Army of Northern Virginia, serving as a brigade commander during the Peninsula Campaign. On 14 July 1862, he was promoted to Major-General, and he took over Benjamin Huger's division. Anderson was wounded in the thigh while defending "Bloody Lane" at the Battle of Antietam, and he would be passed over for promotion to corps commander by A.P. Hill. His division played a minor role at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, and it would be at Spotsylvania in 1864 that he was able to show his abilities as a corps commander. After James Longstreet was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness, Anderson took over I Corps, leading it throughout the Overland Campaign. At Spotsylvania, his corps held its positions against fierce Union attacks, and he would be promoted to Lieutenant-General on 31 May 1864. On 19 October 1864, Anderson became commander of the IV Corps following Longstreet's recovery, and his corps became the rear guard of the Army of Northern Virginia after being forced to hold off Union attacks on Robert E. Lee's main army. After the disastrous Battle of Sailor's Creek on 6 April 1864, Anderson's corps was destroyed and merged with II Corps two days later, causing for Anderson to return home to South Carolina without a command. He was pardoned on 27 September 1865, and he became a planter, railroad company agent, and phosphate inspector after the war, dying in 1879 at the age of 57.